Author:

• Michelle Cristina Lopes - Lopes, M.C. - Araras, SP - UNIARARAS - <lopesmic@pop.com.br>

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

Objective: the aim of this study was to check the oral condition of the elderly citizens from the city of Araras, and to evaluate treatment needs for this population. Methodology: 118 volunteers were interviewed and 112 were examined, all of them above 60 years of age. The research was accomplished through a previous questionnaire with 14 questions to evaluate the patient general health, besides verification of the self-knowledge of the oral health and the intraoral physical exam, observing the oral conditions of the patients. On order to verify the cavities prevalence, it was used advocated criterion and index by WHO. Results: it was observed that the systemic diseases that presented most prevalence were insomnia (40,67 %), followed by visual disturbances (36,44%) and arthritis (33,05%). In relation to the self-knowledge of the volunteers as to their oral condition, it was noticed that 90,67 % of the individuals thought that oral condition does not affect their quality of life. With the intraoral exam, it was obtained a DMF-T media equals to 30,6 with the lost component contributing to 93,9% of the cavities prevalence value (P=28,7). Conclusion: this population requires special care focused on the oral health because, besides having a high DMF-T, they also present inadequate oral health self-knowledge.

Keywords: Aged, health of the Elderly, Oral health.

Content:

Access Issue in Scielo

Other languages: